Ames to Amana

Tuesday, 8/31
Thunder, lightning, heavy rain and wind awoke us.  So un-California, but then, we're in Iowa.  Great city, Ames.  And Midwestern people continue to make us transients so welcome. 

Eastbound on US 30 entering the Big Rain

Eastbound from Ames on the original US 30, AKA the Lincoln Highway, we're enveloped in our first serious rain, but it's welcome.  The coach is being heavenly washed.  Dirt disappears.  Windshield obliterating bugs are cleaned for their sanitized entry to bug heaven without my earthly scrubbing.  How much better can it get for us road warriors who have major world- viewing windows?

Grain hauling big rigs flew by, route numbers changed with every curve, but we remained on the original US 30 until finally connecting with the present 4-lane version, exiting to the Cedar Rapids Airport where Doris acquired our Avis Ford Focus, a favorite rental.  It actually had automatic door locks & windows ... with a free day thrown in because I once was an important, Preferred Avis Client.  Through some blinding rain, we finally found The Amanas, several towns that also have a flat, meadow-like RV park. Giving us the best site (they said), they also gave me the opportunity to get drenched while connecting to water, sewer and electricity.  Whoopee!  At least, I didn't experience a Ben Franklin kite-flying experience.

Changing from soggy to dry clothes, I then drove my favorite wife to a most tasty lunch in one of the many Amanas.   Amana, West Amana, HIgh Amana, Middle Amana, East Amana, South Amana ... even Amana itself, constitute the Amana Colonies of Iowa.  Apparently, the persecuted the Community of True Inspiration, along with the Old Order of Amish, were too busy living in ultimately unacceptable communal living conditions while eluding their persecutors to think of more novel village names like Keokuk, Crazy Woman, or East Los Angeles, etc.   Hurray for them.  I don't particularly care for those, especially after wandering (lost?) among the Amanas.  Unlike Pennsylvania's more touristy Penn Dutch country that preceded some of the original Amana inhabitants, these towns host shops that are unpopulated and somewhat untouristy.  Out of respect, or succumbing to the local charm, I think we bought something of quality in every shop that we stumbled into. 

Especially the restaurant.  Ummhmmmummhum!  Great German-inspired food (the Amish and Community of True Inspiration had their roots in Germany) kept us from spinning into the stratosphere as cyclonic storms continued to do our laundry while still wearing our clothes.  Our spirits are yet to be dampened in mid-America.  .

Tomorrow?  Further exploration into the Amanas.  Perhaps we'll find the elusive non-Amana brand air conditioner or refrigerator, a real challenge in this part of the world because these items are actually produced.  I'll take a picture for you if we find a traitor.  Meantime, tonight, we slumber to the sound of pounding rain, cooled in this.warm, humid climate by our beloved air conditioners.

Novelty, Belts, and Corn

Monday, 8/30

By 8 a.m. we've crossed the Missouri River from South Sioux City, NE to Sioux City, IA.  With Sheila, our GPS, we made the trip to the generator mechanic in less than six minutes.  However, we did have some suspicions about his qualifications.  Company name:  Novelty Machine & Supply Company.  "Uh, are you SURE you can fix this problem?"  With temps and humidity rising outside (and inside) the coach, we were told that John, was the best in the state and we'd be happy with the results.

We are.  Way in the back of the gen is a fan belt.  Rather than a 3/4" width, ours had been reduced to a thread.  No wonder the gen overheated after 4 minutes, nothing was moving the fan blades.  Unfortunately, Novelty had belts that fit every machine in the world ...  but not ours.  A six hour wait while one was trucked from Omaha got too warm for me in the coach without air conditioning.  Doris suffered less than I (she loves heat), so I spent time outside while John changed all the filters and oil, and, with my help, blew out all the accumulated dust and assorted critters from the engine compartment and battery box.  With constant, swirling Iowa wind, John absolutely could not avoid being in the center of the blowing dust.  And did we ever have dust!  Seven years of it from nearly every state.  Poor guy.  (Not so poor now as we gave him a handful of dust free cash for going above and beyond the call of duty.)

Two notes:
1)  The six hour wait is nothing when compared to our friends Bill & Nikki, and Guinness (their black lab) who are traveling from Florida to Vermont where we hope to connect.  16 hours over two days were spent in their air conditioned car while waiting for their coach to be fixed soon after they left their Florida home.  Close quarters while experiencing a frustrating repair service, a true relationship test.

2)  So why the company name "Novelty Machine & Supply Company"?  Seems the continuously family owned company began in 1876, manufacturing novelty items, e.g., artistically designed wrought iron fences, for wealthy Iowans.  One thing led to another and now the company provides specially designed agricultural and commercially used equipment, repairs the same, plus represents dozens of manufacturers for the Midwest, everything from ball bearings to pumps, pipes, etc., etc.  One speciality is Onan, the maker of our generator.  Parts and service, and one of the best Onan mechanics.  We are so fortunate to have them next door.  They solved our problem with renowned Midwest attitude of service with grace and warmth.  Too bad that Bill & Nikki had to fight to receive the same.

OK, now we're on the road again, taking state and narrow county roads through the Iowa countryside to connect with  2-lane US 30 at Denison.  US 30 looks the same as it did in the 60's when I hitch hiked it.  Rolling hills, small towns with populations less than 2,000, each with several grain elevators,  the highway is bordered with thousands of acres of corn readying for harvest.  The road is mostly smooth, the traffic minimal, all much more enjoyable than the interstate to the south.

6 PM finds us in Ames, home of Iowa State University.  Enough travel (and waiting to travel) for one day, we now reside at the Walmart Super Center, parked waaaaay in the back next to the ever present cornfield.  Free overnight parking meant paying Walmart for groceries, or, as I've decided, we get free groceries and pay dearly for the parking. 

Dinner was a Doris creation:  Homemade tacos.  I'm not much for Mexican food, but these were outstanding.  Enough so that they subtracted 5 pounds from the refrigerator and moved them to the driver's seat.  I'm NEVER going to lose weight as long as Doris puts food in my trough.

On the River

Sunday, 8/29

Sioux City, Iowa Across the Wide Missouri

Up early to avoid the heat when scrubbing the bugs off our windshield ... a two-day collection, along with the dust and some mud created by a single passing cloud of wet.  What a mess!  Prior to bug removal was an excursion on my back to the underside of the generator to see if the filters were possible causes, or visible electrical shorting behind the control panel.  No luck.  That means an early Monday morning departure to a local mechanic.  Driving there with crossed fingers will be mandatory.

A pleasant walk to the marina's renowned restaurant provided some exercise, more than offset by a buffet lunch.  Excellent choice.

It's backgammon night, score to be announced if I win.

It's also a good time to say "Thank You" to all who are following us and for your comments.  Most of you are using my rrdflyer@aol.com address and that is fine.  Doris or I will do our best to reply to everyone.  I can truthfully say that it doesn't seem like we've been on the road for two weeks, but then, we've seen so much and enjoyed meeting so many fellow travelers and local residents along the way.  We are truly blessed with so many abundances.

Crossing Nebraska

Saturday, 8/28

Chadron in Northwest Nebraska is the old US 20 that crosses the US from Boston to Newport, OR.  At age 21, I finally had my first car and drove it from home to Oregon via US 20.  So, more reminiscing as we headed east towards Iowa along this highway across northern Nebraska.  We could have dropped south to I-80, but as we found out, we made the right choice.  Most noticeable:  No traffic.  We had the two lane highway to ourselves.  When Doris drove, all I asked was that she keep the coach between the fields.  On the right, soybeans.  On the left, corn.  Thousands and thousands of acres of both in the eastern half of northern Nebraska.  Earlier,the western half gave us serene, rolling grassy plains.  Therefore the beauty of the land, and the incredible agricultural abundance, along with easy driving made for a great day in America's heartland, not to mention $2.85/gallon diesel that was pumped for us.

The only negative was the wind.  30 mph wind, per the roadside windsocks.  Broadsiding us for most of the 364 miles (this trip's second longest daily distance), we both built up our arm muscles, constantly trying to keep us somewhere between the corn and beans.

5:30pm found us at South Sioux City, Nebraska's Scenic Park Campground.  A section of a pretty city park and marina, the RV area looks across the Missouri River toward Sioux City, Iowa and its river boat/casino/hotel.  Cost?  $20/night for full hookup.  "Stay as long as you want", said the manager.  When we looked at the property, we decided to stay an extra day and enjoy our wait to have the generator maintained.  The daily strong wind is a good offset to the slightly humid, 90 degree temperature. 

Doris's renowned "On the Road Again" chile was a great way to end a long, visually feasting day.  "Visually feasting"?  I must be tired.

Wild Horses & Issues

Friday, 8/27

Leaving the Black Hills, we cruised southward to South Dakota's Wild Horse Sanctuary.  The last three miles of "cruising" was in a dust cloud, thanks to the well traveled dirt road leading to the old ranch house, now visitor center.  Unbelievable!  And all we could think of was having to replace the new air filter after driving back to the main highway via the same dirt road.  I don't think the coach has ever been this dusty before, yet very little entered the interior.  Monaco did make a good coach for us, but we'd recommend that you use a car (preferably not your own) to visit the sanctuary. 

Walt, describing the "Hildalgo" movie set below.

Our Marlboro smoking guide, Walt, is a big city Maryland transplant, and one of the best in any business.  He and his knowledge and love of the horses made it all especially worthwhile.  11,000 acres, 650 horses, picturesque setting, viewed from non-air conditioned rattle trap, dust filled old school bus with more dirt roads and cross range land driving in 100 degree heat.  Pick the best of these components and you'll know why we enjoyed the outing. 

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We're still assimilating the volumes of information delivered in the 2 1/2 hour afternoon excursion.  The horses come from roundups by the Bureau of Land Management which attempts to maintain a healthy balance between wild horses and available natural feed on various BLM lands.  Some domesticated horses are actually dumped on the far acreage by people who no longer want or need them ... a problem for the sanctuary.  All are allowed to live in this natural state and cared for by a handful of people, including Walt, because of an Oregon rancher who moved to South Dakota, loved horses, and wanted to do something special with land that was destined to being a missile test site until the local residents shot it down (yes, dear questioning minds, the pun is intended).  The blend of caring humans and beautiful animals is near perfect.

He may be wild, but he knows who cares for him.

Late afternoon, we continued south and crossed into Nebraska, making our way to Chadron's WalMart for a night of a quick dusting and vacuuming, showering, and washing the day's clothes of South Dakota's dust.  Oh yes, we decided to wash the coach ourselves in one of those places that gave the appearance that we could drive into the bay.  Believe it or not, we tried, heard a "crunch" and decided we wouldn't be washing the coach at this location.  Checking the roof top, I decided someone at a much higher altitude than ours had once again saved a less intelligent soul from disaster.  No damage whatsoever ... if you discount the barely visible imprint of a brick on the TV satellite dome's paint.   

A 40 mph wind was broadsiding our parked coach, pushing the 102 degree heat at us, when the generator quit.  Uh oh.  No air conditioning.  Start.  Stop.  Start.  Stop.  The code indicated overheat of either the gen and/or the inverter.  Leaving the gen exposed, we decided to cool off in Walmart's air conditioned paradise.  Of course that became an expense,  but we needed some groceries anyway ... didn't we?  Later, trying the generator again, it also quit again.  And at 8pm, it's still wind driven HOT.  Good fortune reminded us of an RV park a mile away, complete with 50 amp service to drive both ACs, the washer/dryer, nuke oven and both TVs and the ice maker.  Even the stock market was up, all of which made life good again for another day. 

The Presidents

Thursday, 8/26

Another perfect weather day with a special evening treat.  But first, we attend a time share type of presentation that allowed us to stay at this park for almost nothing for three days.  Give the nice man $7,000 and annual "maintenance" fees and our two kids and their kids can travel the world forever so cheaply that we should be ashamed of ourselves for not shouting "YES, WE WILL!".  So, you guessed it.  We're ashamed.

Back to major housekeeping so that we can enter Nebraska without being quarantined by the health department for six months.  Late afternoon and ... off to Mt. Rushmore National Memorial.  Most visitor view the massive, mountainside sculptures of Washington, Jefferson, T. Roosevelt and Lincoln during the day. 

Five Retired Presidents

We chose to pay our respects as the sun was setting, and to participate in the evening ceremony.  Included:  Patriotic music, a memorable and meaningful speech by the park ranger, beautiful movie of the creation of the memorial, including the reasons for choosing these four presidents, and the finale after dark ... the lighting of the sculptures.  Unplanned, but exciting, was the slow procession of large white mountain goats up the path and through the rubble remaining below the presidents' faces.

Concluding was the request for all military veterans to proceed to the amphitheatre stage.  It was most touching to see so many slowly make their way through the audience to the stage, accompanied by constant applause.  Six volunteered to lower the flag, fold it properly and present it to the ranger. 

This evening (with an almost full moon), and the evening rehearsal of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir are the two best planned events experienced on this trip to date. 

Tomorrow?  We leave the Rapid City/Mt. Rushmore area for a day and overnight at the Wild Horse Sanctuary in the very southwestern corner of South Dakota, a state that has developed a special fondness in us. 

Wildlife & Guns

Wednesday, 8/25

It's going to be a great day.  A new air filter 2/3 the size of Doris appears to have eliminated most of the black cloud of smoke on acceleration.  Apparently, the air intake had sucked in and filled the old one with a large quantity of fine, gray/white particles, a couple of beer bottles, and a very annoyed hitchhiker. 

After moving from the Elks Lodge to a full service RV park closer to Mt. Rushmore, we took our very basic rental car (manual windows and door locks; no cruise control; a gas tank so small we can fill it with one of the new found beer bottles) and headed off to Custer State Park.  Good thing we didn't take the coach.  The windy road to access the park was also populated with photogenic one way tunnels that were so height challenged and so narrow that we were required to sound our squeaky-mouse horn before entering.  Not sure what the sounding was supposed to do besides frighten mice from entering at the same time.

The sign says "No RVs".  No kidding.

Anyway, the park gave us natural South Dakota beauty for many miles, but none of the advertised wildlife ... until the wild burros came entered the road to be fed. 

Now we know why our sub-basic rental car came with two mirrors.

And then the pronghorns, prairie dogs ... and finally the bison, better known to the less sophisticated as buffalo, decided to entertain us.  Not one bison ... HUNDREDS!  Bigger than our car.  Heck, bigger than your car!  Being surrounded by them, we wisely and quickly cranked up the windows (as if that would save us).  It was the only thing we could do besides apologizing to the foaming herd for having once bitten their distant relative after it had been transformed into a buffalo burger.

For some reason, the decision to make a right turn came easily.

Did I say foaming herd?  I meant pooping herd.  My God, these beasts have perfected the natural act to the highest production volume of any animal we've previously encountered.  And they don't mind dropping their over sized, fresh meadow muffins on the nicely paved roads.  Note to self:  In the future, stay a lengthy distance from the car ahead of us.  That stuff has also been perfected to fly great distances.

OK, enough potty talk.  We thoroughly enjoyed Custer State Park, but eventually wound our way out and onto county roads taking us to Keystone.  Another old west town transformed into a tourist attraction, it provided great entertainment and some great laughs at the Red Garter Saloon where we enjoyed a comedic rendition of the life of Wild Bill Hickok and associated gun slingers.